it was a run dmc & red sweats kinda day.

you guys put your feet inside your sweats like that too right?  no?  do it.  it's pretty much the only way to wear sweats.  and now you know.

yesterday was the good kind of sunday.  the kind where you spend the day cozied up inside in sweats & a t-shirt watching football & smelling your food cook in the crock pot.  it felt like FALL.  it felt awesome.  i got all kinds of productive in the morning & then all kinds of lazy in the afternoon.  which is how sundays should be.

i'm still on a i-want-to-rip-my-house-apart home decor makeover rampage at the moment & i definitely have at least three diy projects going on at the moment, with about five more in my head just waiting to be started.  i promised sam {and myself} i would finish the ones i've started before beginning more.  boo.  this is the part where i wish i could snap my fingers & find myself in the home i've pinterested.

and while we're on the subject of things amy wants, here are some other things i've been coveting.  because let's face it... we all have a list.

my "if-money-grew-on-trees" list?  includes hunter boots, a macbook air or pro {haven't decided which}, that sweet case to tote it around in & an epiphanie camera bag.

what sweet thing would be first on your list?

and also, do you guys realize fall really starts for us northern hemisphere-ians in four days?  yup.  september 24th is 2011's first official day of fall.  so get out your chunky sweaters, light your cinnamon spice candle & bake something with pumpkin in it.  because fall is kinda the best time of the year ever.

EVER.

your votes are always on my wish list.  always.

my wish list & some christmas cheer

i thought last night was the night.  we had made plans to go get our christmas tree & i had visions of stringing lights & hanging ornaments to jingle bells playing on itunes.  i was gonna take some sparkly tree pictures & get some mad bokeh all up in here today.  eh, it didn't happen.

let me back up.  every christmas since we've been in our house {this is the fifth} we have gone out & cut down a tree.  this year i knew i wouldn't be much help to sam hauling a tree back to our car with parker on one hip so we decided to take it down a notch & get a tree from the local ace hardware.  still a live tree {which is surprisingly better for the environment than an artificial!}, just less hassle.

we ran over to ace {cuz ya know, it's the place} to get our tree.  p-ray's all bundled up, i'm already crunching iso & f-stop numbers in my head figuring out how i'm gonna pull off some cool looking pictures & then we get there only to find out they were all sold out of trees for today.  come back tomorrow.  boo.

so.  maybe today is the day.

anywho... this gives me time to post my christmas wish list just in case santa reads my blog.  here goes.

**disclaimer**:
i know christmas is the season of giving, & the spirit of christmas is not all about what you want.  but, the fact of the matter is that sam & i do exchange gifts & therefore i reserve the right to dream.  plus, this is my blog & i do what i want.

camera bag.

ever since i've gotten my camera i've pretty much not left home without it.  i've got one of those standard "lunch box cooler" looking camera bags which looks pretty awesome walking around fred meyer with {sike}.  also makes it difficult to carry around a normal purse & a small child.  one of these bad boys would solve all the world's problems.  you see, they fit all your camera accessories plus a few of your girly necessities.  it's a win-win.

the hardest part is deciding which one i love the most.

the lola in red from epiphanie, the ginger in brown from ephiphanie, or the rose in bronze from joe totes.

toms.

{photo via}

if you haven't heard of or seen these love-em-or-hate-em little shoes then well... maybe you don't own a mac?  yes, despite often being accused of being hipster shoes {i am no hipster} i think they're super cute.  and i want a pair.  which consequently means someone in a third world country gets a pair too.  another win-win.

again, it's hard to decide what color/style to get, but i like these little ones pictured above.

boots.

you may remember my brown boots disappointment episode from black friday shopping, since it's so hard to find just the right pair.  well, for a reasonable price that is.  boots are SPENDY.  but i can justify a good pair of boots as an investment since they would last forever... right?

i would be happy with any of the ones pictured above.  or all of them.

zip rain boots by steve madden, the king boot by miz mooz, or the gwynne tall boot by born.

and that about sums it up.  for now.  don't get your hopes up for me since our christmas budget allows for maybe one of these things.  but that would be just fine by me :)

and lastly,

i am super, duper, extra crazily excited about a pottery barn kids purchase i made last night.  like, really excited.  check these out:

so excited.


i get so excited every single time someone votes for us. like seriously. every. single. time.

hair today, gone tomorrow.

 i've talked before about how much i have been wanting {coveting} a nice camera.  like, here & here & here.  but anyone who has ever entertained the idea of buying a dslr knows there's a little more to it than just running out to your local one-stop shopping mart & picking one up.  it's smart to do a little research & figure out what one fits your needs, & how much you should invest in it.  because it's definitely an investment.

ok, what i'm getting at here in a very long drawn out way {let's not beat around the bush any longer, ok?} is that they're expensive.  right?  there, i've said it.  and sam & i just don't have the income that we used to since going from two full time incomes to one + my two-days-a-week income.  so i am pinching pennies.  pinching pennies where i can, & changing the way we're doing things around here.  this includes, planning meals much more efficiently, less weekend traveling, & spending less of my budgeted disposable income.

but oooooh, it will be worth it.

unless of course my plans for today go horribly wrong.  you see, i usually spend a ridiculous amount on getting my hair cut & colored.  i don't consider myself a high-maintenance type girl (what girl does?), but i do love a good hair job.  having a good cut & color can honestly put an extra little spring in your step, can it not?  but my hair costs are definitely an area where i could stand to benefit from some savings.  so, i am saving.  so much so, that my hair has grown way longer than it has been for years, & the horribly dark roots & gangly ends are evidence of that.

this weekend i took care of the length & nasty split ends problem & got a cheap trim at mastercuts.  no complaints there.

but here's where it gets scary.  i'm dying my hair myself tonight from out of a box.  what i usually pay almost $100 for, i am substituting with a $7 bottle of dye from fred meyer.

here's my "before" picture. 

and, i'm going darker.  back to my roots, folks.  at least for now.  it should be fun mixing it up, right? RIGHT?  i'm sure i'll be thanking myself when that beautiful nikon strap is hanging around my neck. 

"after" pictures should be posted tomorrow.  i'm hoping for the best.  wish me luck!

oh look!  this was a no baby talk post.  that's because it's "no mom talk monday" ya'll.  to check out other blogs who are ditchin the baby talk today, hit the badge above.  mom's are people too!



and to vote to keep us on the first page at top baby blogs, hit the brown badge above! i promise to love you forever.  pinky swear. 

more productivity + more drugs = today

today was far more productive.  you can tell because i'm wearing makeup, my hair is done, & p-ray isn't in pajamas. every now & then, a lazy all-day-pajama-wearing-day like yesterday is important because it allows a person {me} to recharge & be a little more motivated the next day.  that's what i say to justify it, anyways.  i think i'm buying it.

today i had an appointment with my endocrinologist.

apparently pregnancy wasn't the magical cure-all for my thyroid issues & my levels are way out of whack again.

& just in case i didn't believe the blood test results on paper, they did an ultrasound on my neck to show me in living color how messed up my thyroid looks.  it's awesome when the doctor puts the ultrasound on his neck and says, "see this?  this is what a normal, healthy thyroid looks like.  let's look at yours.  oh yeah, that's a beauty.  see how big & unhealthy that looks?  beautiful... just lovely."

my drug levels were tripled & i was sent on my way.  so that's cool.

my thyroid may be twice the normal size, it might be worthless in ten years, & i'll probably be on drugs for the rest of my life, but at least i have a doctor who thinks big is beautiful.

in closing.

here are three things for today's edition of "what makes amy happy"...

1.  the nikon d7000.  i think we've made a decision about which dslr we'll be buying.  nikon recently announced the d7000.  it fits somewhere in their lineup between the d90 & the d300s.  it has increased video capabilities & some other cool features, but won't be available to buy until mid-october.  that's ok.  it gives me more time to find someone to sell my soul to so we can pay for it.
 

2.  sophie.  i have to admit that all the sophie the giraffe hype is true.  i have read about how uh-mazing she is on many many mommy blogs/community boards & gave in to the rumors.  parker thanks me.  he l-o-v-e-s his sophie.  if you're wondering whether spending twenty dollars on a toy that looks like it is meant for a small dog is really worth it, i'm telling you it is.

unless you're ok with having your baby endlessly gnaw on your knuckles/fingers/nose/other small body parts, then ignore this.

3. modern family. who's with me?  such a great show.  season premiere tomorrow night & i am super excited.  i would argue that i don't watch much tv, but then i start counting up all my favorite shows & i have to stop talking.  i don't care.  i'm in love with this show & i don't care who knows it.





your votes keep these fingers typing. vote vote vote!

camera envy

the purpose of this post is two fold:

1. to discuss something that i have been coveting, and
2. to show off a picture of my super cute little guy.

i love taking pictures, i love editing them, i love experimenting with angles, lighting, blah blah blah. but i know nothing about photography, & my camera is mediocre. well, it's not bad by any means... it's just no... nikon d90.

while visiting family a couple weeks ago, my sister & i had a parker photoshoot. the shot below is one of hers. mine isn't even worthy of being in the same post. hers was taken with her nikon d90 dlsr.

so there you have it. i am coveting my sister's camera. anyone have an extra $1,500 laying around you wanna let me borrow?

(i will give you fair warning... you'd probably not get the money back. but the pictures on my blog would most likely start looking amazing...)